6 ECTS credits
152 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 4023963ENR for all students in the 1st and 2nd semester at a (E) Master - advanced level.

Semester
1st and 2nd semester
Enrollment based on exam contract
Impossible
Grading method
Pass/Non pass
Can retake in second session
Yes
Taught in
Dutch
Faculty
Faculty of Social Sciences & SolvayBusinessSchool
Department
Communication Sciences
Educational team
Ike Picone (course titular)
Lynn Tytgat
Activities and contact hours
8 contact hours Lecture
40 contact hours Seminar, Exercises or Practicals
104 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study
Course Content

In this course, students work together on a project relating to media and culture, in casu a pop-up newsroom. Students learn (1) generating scientifically grounded insights, (2) providing academically grounded advice and (3) developing innovative ideas that have a direct relevance outside the university. 

To execute the project, the students go through a learning program in which they learn to translate and valorise successfully, under guidance of experts, the gained scientific knowledge of media, journalism and politics in a non-university context. To achieve this, the emphasis in this project course lies on practice-oriented deepening of this already gained 'hard skills' and the development of complementary soft skills. More specifically, this course is designed to teach, cultivate and hone the following skills and competencies:

Hard skills: generate problem-solving and advice-oriented insights

  • Frame problems from a scientific perspective: analyze and contextualize customer questions using scientific knowledge on media and communications,
  • Targeted deployment of an appropriate mix of methods for acquiring knowledge (state-of-the-art research, short-term empirical research ...) in order to generate actionable insights

Soft skills: project-based work and effective communication

  • Critical and creative thinking with the aim of developing innovative ideas;
  • Run a consultancy assignment in team: organization (division of responsibilities, planning, follow-up ...), cooperation (self-reflection, give constructive feedback, conflict management, leadership);
  • Maintain a professional relationship with the customer: professional attitude, authentic listening, negotiating, presenting ...;
  • Self-development (positioning within the group, assess its strengths and weaknesses, growing in the group ...).

These general goals include specific learning objectives according to the specialization. These include for media and culture:

  • Learning to imagine and create;
  • Learning to assess the risks and opportunities of a project with respect for diversity;
  • The ability to assess and substantiate the feasibility and scope of a novel idea.
Course material
Digital course material (Required) : Meer gedetailleerde informatie over de opdrachten, projecten en cases is terug te vinden in een handleiding, Canvas
Additional info

Programme in semester 1:

  • hands-on workshops by professionals
  • working up the subject
  • introducing and getting to know the client
  • prepatory work

Programme in semester 2:

  • developing the project
  • presenting the project to the client

Study material:

  • slides of the lectures and workshops
  • bibliography of relevant literature (project- and client-related)
  • reader of relevant literature (project- and client-related)

More detailed information on the assignments, projects and cases can be found in the course manual on Canvas.

Learning Outcomes

Algemene competenties

  • Students are able to detect, analyse and assess the social, professional and policy implications of trends and problem areas in a media landscape, from a theoretical reference and analysis framework that matches the field of communication science approaches to journalism, politics and democracy;
  • Students have the ability to communicate information, insights and both existing and own research findings to diverse audiences, both in writing and orally through the necessary multimedia support;
  • Students are able to learn and act, under supervision, independently, creatively, critically and entrepreneurially.

At the end of the course the student will have learned to:

  • answer/solve a specific question/problem from a customer or stakeholder by means of applied academic research;
  • set up an consultancy study and carry it out in team;
  • guarantee the proper functioning of a team;
  • translate research results into insights that can be used immediately by the customer/stakeholder;
  • think in an advice-oriented, problem-solving and creative ways.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Other Exam determines 100% of the final mark.

Within the Other Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Process & Product Evaluation with a relative weight of 100 which comprises 100% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

Participation: students will be evaluated based on their participation in the contact moments, their contributions to the pop-up newsroom and peer-to-peer evaluation by team members (process evaluation).
End product: evaluation of the output of the pop-up newsroom (product evaluation).

Based on the process and product evaluation, students will receive a pass or fail grade. The necessary requirements are explained in the task assignment.

If it is evident from the ongoing evaluation of the teaching team that a student is not demonstrating the expected commitment and participation, an individual remedial trajectory may be imposed.
Students who fail the exam will be required to submit an individual assignment in second session which will be further explained in the task description.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark
The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context

This offer is part of the following study plans:
Master of Communication Studies: Media and Society (only offered in Dutch)